


A Prequel

by Ode2Vin



Series: A Story Retold [1]
Category: Psych
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-23 23:24:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14943288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ode2Vin/pseuds/Ode2Vin
Summary: Based on Vindicata’s Yesterday Was Hard On All of UsThis fic will be snapshots of Shawn’s time undercover in Santa Barbara. An LAPD dective posing as a Psychic Detective.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Yesterday Was Hard On All Of Us](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/389331) by Vindicata. 



> Vindicata created a beautiful world when they made Yesterday Was Hard On All Of Us. Originally I wanted to finish the story simply for myself, but as I dove into possibilities it became something more. This will be a series that will encompass a retelling of their wonderful work in addition to adding previously unseen scenes. This version is currently not finished, and I’m predicting it will be complete by the end of the year. 
> 
> All original characters and storyline are accredited to Vindicata, http://www.psychfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=3851&warning=4
> 
> Rather than leaving me Kudos, you should go tell them how much you love their work in a review on their original story!

  
< _**2004 Los Angeles, CA**_ >

  
“I— I should have been there!” Shawn muttered out through clenched teeth. “I was too late…”

  
“Listen kid, there was nothing you could have done. I’m sorry. It’s never easy— these situations— ” Captain Breighton tried to assure his young detective. It wasn’t the first time they had this conversation, but as Shawn had barged into his office exactly two minutes after he had arrived at the LAPD headquarters that morning and placed his gun and badge on the Captain’s desk, it very well might be the last.

  
“I can’t. I can’t do this anymore, I can’t be here.” Shawn interrupted.

  
Breighton sympathized. Shawn wasn’t ready for a new assignment, he knew this. That’s why the detective had been placed on desk duty once he had returned to the precinct the previous week. It also hadn’t gone unnoticed that Shawn had missed all of his scheduled shifts since then too.

  
“Okay.” The Captain agreed quietly.

  
“Okay?” Shawn’s head snapped up in confusion. He was expecting more of a fight. After all, he was good; had one of the highest closed ratings amongst his peers in Major Crimes, and was often lent out to his old department, Robbery and Homicide, and would take on the extra workload without complaint.

  
“Yes.” Breighton assured. “Spence, you’re one of the best god damn detectives that I’ve got. But, _you_ know that. You also know that I know how difficult it can be to— to loose a partner.” Breighton paused for a moment in which Shawn’s eyes darted to the Kimber 1911 handgun on the desk with an almost hungry gaze. “So here’s what I’m proposing— keep the badge.”

  
Shawn fidgeted and moved to interrupt but the captain held up his hand to silence him.

  
“Take some time. Take all the time you need. Hell, kid, you’re only twenty-seven, go see the country, see some of the good the world has to offer, because you’ve spent too much time in the underbelly… Just hang on to the badge, I’m placing you on extended leave.”

  
Shawn drifted between emotions over the suggestion, but settled on anger. One that had been a constant lately, broiling just under the surface, although rather than the self hatred he was getting used to, Shawn’s blame had shifted to his superior.

  
“You’re refusing my resignation?” Shawn asked unnecessarily. “Well, I quit. I don’t want to come back, not ever.” He shot the older man a challenging glare.

  
Nick Breighton had never been a man to crumble under fear, and he wasn’t about to start now. “If you don’t return, that’s on you. But I’m not going to let you throw your career away, not when you’re stuck in your head; not thinking straight.”

  
Shawn’s temper fizzled out just as quickly as it had risen. “Fine.” He snapped, displaying a level of disrespect that not even he, himself, would usually stoop to. And Shawn was probably the most informal of all the detectives in the department, well except for perhaps Kev…

  
The time Kevin had used his expert skills to dress up as the Captain for Halloween flitted before Shawn’s closed lids. He grew out a mustache and even managed to get his hair the correct shade of silver for the occasion. Everyone thought they looked identical, even the chief had graced the lower floors that day after hearing the rumors of one of his Captains’ double making an appearance.

  
Shawn couldn’t afford to think about his former partner. Not just then. He needed to leave immediately. He blew out a hard breath, making up his ever changing mind, and reached for the gun and badge. Breighton said he didn’t have to return, well, he wouldn’t. Shawn would make sure of it. Now he just had to get out of there, before any more unwanted memories washed over him.

  
“Ah. Just the badge.” Breighton reiterated. “You can have your sidearm back once you return and are cleared by a psychologist.”

  
Shawn’s eyes narrowed at the implication but he didn’t want to waste time arguing. He needed to leave.

  
“Fine.” He bit out again.

  
And with that Shawn scooped up his badge, which he clutched so tightly it was sure to leave an indent in the palm of his hand, and strode out of his boss’ office, feeling as if the fifteen feet to the elevator was fifteen feet too many. He didn’t bother looking around to see which of his coworkers had also arrived early. He didn’t glance in the direction of his desk which sat opposite of Kevin’s in the center of the room. He didn’t bother to look up and see who was getting off the elevator as he kept up his pace and smashed the button for the ground floor in the same stride.

And once Shawn was seated on his Norton 750 Commando, he didn’t look back as he drove out of the city he had called home for the last nine years.

 


	2. Chapter 2

  
< **_2006 Santa Barbara, CA_ ** >

  
The weather was beautiful with a bright, azure sky but there was still enough of a breeze to justify wearing a leather jacket. It was perfect motorcycling conditions. That might be why Shawn couldn’t keep a grin from forming _or_ it could be because he was heading to his best friend’s apartment for the first time in over a year.

  
Burton Guster had finished his route early, as he always did on Wednesdays, and was looking forward to a nice quiet evening at home. Of course that would be when the doorbell rang.

  
“Just a minute.” Gus called with a slight irritation. Who would be bothering him at this time? Surely everyone he knew would be at work still, and he had plans on catching up on last evening’s episode of American Duo.

  
He had to do a double take when he peaked through the peephole. “ _Shawn_!?” Gus stammered as he slid back the chain to let his friend in.

  
“And just who else would it be? How many awesomely handsome, currently unemployed friends do you have?” Shawn asked as he pushed his way inside, sparing a quick glance at Gus’ apartment. “Good, you’re not doing anything.”

  
“Shawn.”

  
“Your fridge is lacking pointy fruit.” Shawn announced, his voice was muffled from behind the refrigerator door.

  
“Shawn!”

  
“I think we need to go for a smoothie run, on you of course.”

  
“Shawn!!”

  
“What? It’s not like you were going to do anything.” Shawn flicked his eyes to the reflection in the glass coffee table. “American Duo? Really, Gus?”

  
“SHAWN!” Gus shouted his best friend’s name that time, hand still on his front door nob. “What are you doing here? In Santa Barbara?”

  
“Don’t be a silly goose, Gus! I live here.” Shawn replied flippantly. “Now smoothies, preferably of the pineapple variety.”

  
“You, you live here!?” Gus’ eyes lit up.

  
“Just put down a six month lease on that old acupuncture place down town.” Shawn replied easily. “Now you can buy me a pineapple smoothie and one of those thingies with forks and… round… forks.”

  
“Spoons? A cutlery set?” Gus asked confused but he couldn’t keep a smile from creeping up his face. It abruptly fell when he glanced at his flatscreen. He highly doubted he’d be catching up on American Duo anytime soon.

 

* * *

 

  
< _**3 Months Later, Santa Barbara, CA**_ >

  
“Okay. Okay. Fine, you win! I got the information because I’m Psychic.” Shawn conceded in the interrogation room doorframe. Detectives Barry and Lassiter were on one side of him and Officer McNab and Desk Sergeant Allen on the other, all four of which looked doubtful.

  
Shawn quickly changed _most_ of their minds and found himself being led to the Chief’s office. Interim Chief Karen Vick. It was a vast improvement over being led to the holding cells. Lassiter couldn’t have looked more pleased; assuming that a trip to the chief’s office wouldn’t be good for the crazy man claiming to talk to spirits. How very wrong he was.

  
“Really Shawn! A Psychic?” She asked incredulously once the door had shut behind him. Karen was entitled to her frustration with the situation as she was several months pregnant and hadn’t seen her former partner’s kid in years, after all. Plus she was well aware that Shawn certainly wasn’t a psychic.

  
Shawn explained the situation and how he didn’t want Lassiter to pull his record and thus reveal his status as a cop. Karen let the young detective talk, thinking back to what Nick had told her a couple of years ago when he had granted Shawn a seemingly endless amount of extended leave. She had warned the Captain that she doubted either one of them would ever see Shawn again. And yet, here he sat in her office, in trouble for phoning in tips to the police of all things. Even if Detective Shawn Henry Spencer wasn’t ready to take up the title again, he was certainly ready to solve crime. It was in his blood, after all. By the end of his explanation, she couldn’t help but smirk.

  
“I’ll handle Nick, give him a call and arrange an official cover for you, but in the meantime, are you familiar with the McCallum family?” Karen asked with a raised eyebrow.

  
She gave Shawn a file with very little information about a kidnapping case for one of the more well known ( _and well off_ ) Santa Barbara families. Her smile faded as she admitted that the feds were looking in to jumping on it as they hadn’t made much progress.

  
And with that, Psych was born. A private investigation agency with a fraudulent, yet rather observant, psychic and his partner, a pharmaceutical sales rep. Or, a cover to get one of Breighton’s best detectives back in the game, even if he was being loaned out to the SBPD.

  
Karen and Nick took bets to see how long it would last. Neither one predicted longer than a year.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

< **_2007 Los Angeles, CA_ ** >

  
“You know we have a pier up in Santa Barbara too…” Shawn said with a laugh as Captain Breighton approached the bench he was sitting at on the boardwalk. The Captain was still wearing his suit and aviators, his cop-like appearance clashed with Shawn’s jeans and riding jacket.

  
The older man sat down with a sigh, accepting the stack of paperwork Shawn passed him.

  
“Yeah but Karen told me you, uh, still haven’t found her a nanny yet… ” Breighton chuckled lightly. “Listen Spence, you’re playing with fire there… what’s the hold up?”

  
“You’re afraid of Karen!” Shawn teased. “You do have a kryptonlite!”

  
“Kryptonite.” The Captain corrected automatically with a laugh. “And you’d be wise to avoid sleep deprived women, too, kid.” Breighton warned.

  
Shawn blew out a breath. “ She won’t even give me any real cases! I think she forgot that I’m not actually a psychic!” Shawn protested. “ —But it doesn’t matter, I’m pretty sure I’ve stumbled on to a string of B&E’s…”

  
Shawn proceeded to explain his findings, based on what he had over heard from his time at the park.

  
“So let me get this straight.” Breighton had listened patiently as Shawn ran through possible theories. He idly shuffled through the stack of paperwork as he talked; multitasking. “You and your pa— and Guster, thought it would be a good idea to just hang out at a playground and ask the nannies and children a whole bunch of personal questions? I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did.”

  
Shawn tensed at the Captain’s close slip up but chose instead to focus on poor Buzz’ face when he saw who he had been called in to escort away from the playground.

  
Breighton paused during his paper rifling. “Really Shawn! You spent over a thousand dollars having Gus’ car ‘tricked out by Johnny G’…”

  
“Would you believe he didn’t even keep the flames! They were flames, man!” Shawn huffed with false indication.

  
“ —On an Echo?” The Captain raised his brow.

  
“Yeah, well…” Shawn shrugged.

  
“Everything looks good here.” Captain Breighton announced as he got to the bottom of the stack. “Have you— ”

  
“No.” Shawn cut him off.

  
“You don’t even— ”

  
“Know what you were going to say?” Shawn finished the sentence. “I’m psychic, man.” He teased lightly before becoming serious. “And no, I haven’t taken the psych eval, and no, I don’t want to do any undercover work for you.”

  
Breighton’s face fell. “Spence… Its been three years. You need to forgive yourself, it wasn’t your fault.”

  
Shawn didn’t have a response to that.

  
“I do have a case for you,” Breighton admitted. “But not undercover work.” He added hastily as Shawn moved to stand up. “Take a look at this for me, please.” The Captain passed Shawn a thick file. “I had an officer under, really gaining some ground in the organization, and suddenly his cover was blown. It’s okay, he lived.” He quickly added as Shawn had bristled at that.

  
“It’s not unheard of for covers to crumble.” Shawn told him. “They usually do, it’s just a matter of getting the evidence beforehand.”

  
“Just take a look.” Breighton repeated. “It seemed suspicious to me.”

  
Shawn sighed. “I will.”

  
“Good man.” Breighton told him with a friendly pat on his shoulder as he stood. “Well, You should be off, you have a nice two hour drive ahead of you.”

  
Shawn groaned. “It’ll be three with the traffic on the 101.”

 

* * *

 

  
< _ **4 Months Later, Santa Barbara, CA**_ >

 

Shawn should have known something was up, when Karen asked for a word with her top detectives and invited him along. The Chief condoned herself professionally, as she always did when Juliet and Lassie were in the room. But her movements were just a hair too stiff for this meeting to be strictly business. Shawn shot her a questioning look before attempting to dispel the tension with a poorly timed joke at Lassiter’s expense.

  
It didn’t work. As Karen sat down she explained the reason for the meeting.

  
“When I excepted this position on a interim basis, the agreement between myself and the Mayor was— Should things work out, at an appropriate time the interim would be removed from the title. As you know that has not yet happen, and recently I gave the Mayor a deadline, a deadline that has passed without any sort of response.” Chief Vick paused in her speech to lock eyes with Shawn, as this affected his position with the SBPD as well.

  
“So effective Friday, I’m stepping down as Chief.”

  
“What?” Juliet grasped.

  
“I’m leaving.” Karen reiterated.

  
Juliet protested and immediately started coming up with suggestions on how this could be prevented, while Lassiter inquired whether or not he would be considered for the position. Karen gave Shawn a small nod, confirming what wasn’t being said out loud.

  
“Look _Chief_ ,” Shawn interrupted the detectives’ argument and emphasized her title as he so rarely used it. “Let me just offer that you’re a great Chief and, uh, I’m sure things will all work out.” He finished lamely. Knowing the words weren’t enough to placate his… friend, mentor? Pseudo female authority figure whom he turned to for guidance when he was eighteen and unsure of what he was going to do with his life.

  
Karen dismissed them and Shawn acted as if he was going to follow Lassiter and Juliet out of the office but chose rather to shut the door behind them and turned back around. It was a move he had used many times when he needed a private word with Karen, but it was the first time he was doing so for unselfish reasons. Well, sort of. The Chief’s announcement did affect Shawn somewhat. It wouldn’t be wise to pose as a psychic and take on police work if no one at the station knew the truth and logistics. And he was sure it would effect his pay as the paper trail for the cases he took on led back to the LAPD.

  
But, at the moment, Shawn was really concerned for Karen Vick. Mother of a one year old who was currently facing the prospects of loosing her job.

  
“Shawn…” Karen said somberly when she looked up and saw he was still there. “I’m sorry… it’s about more than just the money, although doing this job for half the pay is— ”

  
“No, no, no Karen, you have every reason to be upset. You deserve the title of Chief. Hell, I kind of forgot you weren’t…” Shawn admitted with a small shake of his head. “So what do you need me to do?” He asked, suddenly full of energy and rubbing his hands together. “Plant some evidence? Arrange for the mayor to be in cohorts with our mummy thief? …Assassination? I could get Lulu up here, he owes me, this one time— ”

  
“No Shawn!” Karen interrupted. “And don’t you dare finish that sentence, I’d hate to explain to Nick that I’m arresting two of his best men…”

  
“Seriously though, what do you need me to do?” Shawn asked.

  
“Honestly, I’m not sure there is much we can do…” Karen frowned. “I really didn’t want it coming to this, but I can’t let it slide that my request is being ignored, again...”

  
“Have you called Nick?” Shawn asked. “Maybe he could— ”

  
“I’m afraid that the best he would be able to do is to offer me a job back in LA, and I transferred out of that city years ago for a reason.” Karen replied wearily.

  
Shawn laughed. “Hey, you could go undercover with me, work for Psych! Be my new part— ner.” He choked on the word. The jovial attempt to keep the conversation positive disintegrated instantly.

  
Shawn jumped up so suddenly after that, it startled Karen. She knew it was pretty much an unspoken rule not to mention Kevin or anything associated with the former detective around Shawn and as soon as she realized where Shawn’s distracted train of thought was heading she held her breath in anticipation.

  
Shawn paused with his hand on the door. “Don’t worry, we’ll crack the museum case, and I’ll— uh, figure out something. Don’t lose hope yet, you deserve to be Chief.” He said gruffly before exiting the office.

  
Karen felt a pang in her heart that had nothing to do with her own predicament.

  


* * *

 

 

< _**That Friday, Santa Barbara, CA**_ >

  
Juliet planned quite the party for the Chief’s last day. It was bittersweet because the team was also celebrating two rather big busts and Gus had finally admitted that the murder was not in fact the mummy and therefore he could visit the museum again. Not that he had plans to anytime soon…

  
_Almost_ everyone was holding back their cheer out of respect for Chief Vick. Everyone except Shawn who was behaving like his usual childish self. Juliet couldn’t help but smile at his antics.

  
Then they were interrupted by a phone call from the Mayor. Chief Vick held her composure until she hung up.

  
“I’m the new Chief!” She announced, unable to keep the smile from her attempt at a straight face.

  
“Not interim?” Gus asked.

  
“Don’t you ever call me that again.” The _official_ new Chief replied.

  
Her sentence was drowned out by Juliet’s cries of joy. The occasion was interrupted when Lassiter came in and plopped a copy of the Santa Barbara Mirror down in front of them all, with the headline reading ‘Sauter Stung in Adultery Revelation’. Sauter would have been the man to take the Chief’s job…

  
Karen shared a knowing look with Shawn for just a moment before Juliet shouted that they should have a party! Ironic because they were technically already at a going away party, but the good news deserved one on a whole new level.

  
As they rushed out to celebrate the Chief’s news, Karen pulled Shawn aside. “You didn’t— ”

  
“He hung himself, promise.” Shawn muttered. “You deserve this. Now shots? Shot time!”

  
Karen smirked and shook her head. “How about a bottle of champagne, hem?”

 


	4. Chapter 4

  
< **_2008, Santa Barbara, CA_** >

  
Shawn lingered behind as Gus left the station under the guise of wanting to flirt with Juliet. As soon as he saw the blueberry drive away he changed directions and headed down to the shooting range instead.

  
Captain Breighton was already down there suited up with earplugs and protective goggles. He paced himself as he lined up each shot. Shawn took the lane next to him without interrupting. Placing a stack of papers between them.

  
As Breighton popped off his last shot he finally turned to Shawn. “Your mom was in town a couple of weeks ago, you could have completed that psych eval with her, you know. I’d be able to give this back to you permanently.” He added as he slid Shawn’s Kimber 1911 over.

  
Shawn didn’t respond as he took apart his pistol. “You need to clean this if your going to continue holding it hostage.” He said in lieu of answering.

  
Captain Breighton shook his head as he glanced at the papers. “So, uh, Karen called me. Said you suggested Juliet should go undercover to get to the bottom of this string of robberies. She mentioned that you’re working with her…”

  
“She’s not— she’s not my partner.” Shawn bit out the word as he started piecing his gun back together. “It’s not the same.”

  
“It’s a start.” Breighton muttered to himself as he paused on a case file that looked like it was duplicated.

  
Shawn noticed the hesitancy and nodded in understanding when he saw the paper. “Yeah, I’m giving you two for that one. Uh. That’s the case I technically took for Babs. umm, I mean, the Commander, Karen’s sister Barbara. The top one is accurate, including when a dead body fell on Gus, neither one of us were gloved and if forensics wanted to, I’m sure they’d pick up our DNA. I had to help get it off him.” He added sheepishly. “We already got the confession from the assailant. And it shouldn’t be an issue. But just In case I wanted you to have the official version.”

  
“Why is there even a need for a second version?”

  
“Well it took some time and convincing to get Lassie over there to check out my ‘vision’ and time line wise it would have looked suspicious if I found a body and didn’t report it until hours later…”

  
“Okay. Thanks for the honesty.” Breighton nudged him. “Let’s see if you’re out of practice, go on, this will probably be my best— ”

  
Shawn didn’t wait until the sentence was finished before he let out a string of shots straight down the center of the target. Ten bangs in rapid succession. He held the retrieval arrow down and waited for the target paper to reel in.

  
The Captain shook his head. “Or not.” He said to himself to finish his sentence.

  
Shawn’s dummy had a straight line of dots from the center of the forehead to the middle of the chest. He looked it over and shrugged. “I could use some practice. Look at the distance on these two…”

  
Captain Breighton didn’t bother commenting.

  
A familiar voice met Shawn’s ears and he knew it was time for him to hightail it out of there. Lassiter was talking with an uniformed officer as they entered the range. Shawn gave Captain Breighton his marksman sheet and pushed him out to stand in the narrow hall that connected all of the firing lanes. Shawn meanwhile ducked behind the taller Captain just as Lassie crossed their path.

  
Shawn didn’t have a moment to spare to see if his planned distraction worked as he silently darted off towards the exit, but he heard Lassie comment on the skillful shooting and figured the detective’s attention was momentarily else where. Shawn would have to ask his Captain what Lassie had to say about it later.

  
Captain Breighton modestly accepted Lassiter’s compliments, retrieved his paper work and stowed his own gun in his holster as well as Shawn’s in its case. Next time, he’d talk Shawn into carrying again next time…

 


	5. Chapter 5

  
< _**Early 2009 Los Angeles, CA** _ >

 

Captain Breighton returned from an early lunch only for a desk sergeant to intercept him in the entrance of the LAPD headquarters.

  
“Captain! Captain Breighton, sir, you had a call, um anonymous caller, but they said to tell you— pineapple pancakes are better. Said you’d know.” The young woman told him this as if it was urgent despite the casualness of the words.

  
The Captain thanked her and headed off to his office to make the private call.

  
The phone rang twice before it was picked up. “Spencer here.”

  
“There is no way pineapple pancakes are better than cinnamon raisin bread.” Captain Breighton quipped. He’d like to say he was surprised that Shawn had known what he ordered at the diner across town, but truth be told, he wasn’t. “What’s up Spence, what’s with the phone tag?”

  
Shawn took a moment before he replied. “I’m— in town. I’m— just look up.”

  
Captain Breighton peered through the glass wall of his office across the mostly empty desks that made up his underlings. Shawn’s desk was used for storage more than anything else these days and was just as bare as it usually was. Breighton was about to huff into the phone for the Detective to stop messing around when he noticed what was different. On the opposite side of the floor, Lieutenant Patel’s office which usually had its blinds open was surprisingly dark.

  
He hung up and crossed the room.

  
“Spence, what are you doing in here? Lieutenant Patel will be back from— ” Captain Breighton stopped mid sentence as he saw the Lieutenant sitting at her desk with a salad in one hand and a fork in the other.

  
Patel froze in her fork to mouth movement to look up at her boss questioningly. “ —Sir, are you looking for someone?” She asked.

  
“Uh’em. No. No, sorry for the interruption.” Breighton said in a professional tone as he shut the door and turned back around to see Shawn spinning in his own desk chair.

  
The Captain shook his head.

  
“Get out of my seat, Spencer.” He barked when he reentered his office. “I’m too old for these games.”

  
“Spencer!” Shawn said mischievously. “Have I been upgraded to two syllables?”

  
“What brings you back to town, not that I mind the visit?” Breighton ignored the question to ask one of his own.

  
Shawn’s shoulders fell and he placed a file on the Captain’s desk. “What do you know of Santa Barbara’s Ying Yang case?”

  
Breighton’s head snapped up at that and he quickly made his way over to one of the guest chairs on the opposite side of his desk to take a seat and read through the file. He had heard a little about the serial homicides back in ’95, knew the perp was never caught. Karen had vented to him once when the killer resurfaced and got away again. Was he back?

  
Shawn was unusually quiet while Breighton read through the report.

  
“Wait. This says you got— _her_. She’s behind bars! And she took your mother as a hostage, that couldn’t have been easy, when did— ”

  
“Yesterday.” Shawn replied before the Captain could finish his question. “Yesterday, it was— unlike any case I’ve worked— poems and clues, all centered on what I had already done that day— it was so— personal.”

  
The Captain nodded. “She got into your head…”

  
“She took my mom!” Shawn all but shouted. “She was kidnapped. I saw her that morning, my mom came down to the station and asked me not to take the case on behalf of my father and then she changed her tune and told me she had faith in me… My mom was there and— _Mr. Yang_ saw her and kidnapped her! It wasn’t even— I didn’t do anything to warrant that response, it’s not like I took down an organization or ruined someone’s plans. It was— completely unprovoked.”

  
“Shawn.” Captain Breighton said his first name softly. “This job is dangerous, no matter where you work it from. She called you out, you’ve been closing cases left and right for Karen. And this— sociopath noticed you. That was all it took. Sometimes it really is that simple.”

  
Shawn’s eyes darted back and forth as if he was seeing something that wasn’t there.

  
“I— I don’t know.” Shawn said eventually. “It was a little too easy in the end. I can’t help but think that Mr. Yang wanted to get caught. —She said we would be working together again soon…”

  
Captain Breighton leaned back in his chair. “You can never really tell with sociopaths. Maybe she did want to be caught…”

  
“She doesn’t fit the profile.” Shawn said as he thought about it more. “She would have been in her twenties during the first killing spree. Her homicides back then were so well thought out…”

  
“You think there is more to it?” Breighton asked.

  
“I— I don’t know.” Shawn huffed out. “And I don’t like not knowing.”

  
“Want me to assign someone to the case? Have an outsider take a look at it?”

  
“I don’t know.” Shawn said again with frustration. “The feds sent in a criminal behavioral guy…”

  
“A criminal psychologist?” Breighton asked as he reread through the report to look for a name. “Lightly? I’m not familiar with him.”

  
“Apparently he spent his entire career working on this case… If he doesn’t think something is up, then, maybe…”

  
“Trust your gut, Spence. If you think there is more to this, then— ”

  
“I don’t know what I think.” Shawn replied quickly. “I didn’t even know where I was going to go today when I got on my bike, I had half a mind to just— ”

  
“Run?” Breighton finished for him. “But you came here instead?”

  
“ —Yeah.” Shawn said to the palm of his hands, suddenly exhausted from yesterday’s events.

  
Then a knock on the door interrupted them.

  
“Nick— ” Captain Roger McKinney didn’t wait for permission to enter and paused when he saw Shawn sitting at the Captain’s desk. “Ace! What a surprise! And when did you surpass Breighton here and take over his office? I went on vacation for a week and everything’s changed.” He grumbled.

  
“Hey Mickey.”Shawn said with a bright smile. His earlier mood hidden. “Still got that stache I see.”

  
“Didn’t want things to change too much should you ever return.” McKinney mocked. “I keep telling Nick here he needs to dye that silver hair of his…”

  
Shawn shot him a doubtful look. “Cap’s has always been a silver fox, I’m pretty sure he was born that way… More of a minx in his youth, I suppose.” He added as an afterthought.

  
“A baby fox is called a kit, Spence.” Breighton replied, exaggerating his annoyance.

  
“Really?” Shawn asked. “I’ve heard it both ways.”

  
Breighton ignored him and turned to McKinney. “Issue with the recruits?”

  
“I have one I want you to meet.” McKinney told him. “She’s a smart one. Quick thinker, thought I’d give you the opportunity to call dibs… Final testing is next Saturday.”

  
Breighton nodded. “I’ll be there. Thanks for the heads up.”

  
“Gee. You didn’t call dibs on me? I was sent off to Robbery and Homicide first.” Shawn pouted.

  
“Captain Zellner was sick of reading through the complaints from her detectives that you were solving all their crimes. That’s why they let you sit for the detective exam only six months after getting your badge. She declared you hers before I even had a chance to meet you!” Breighton admitted. “And none of us are dumb enough to mess with Zellner.”

  
McKinney and Shawn both laughed at that. Zellner was as fierce as they came. She loved Shawn but he had been on the receiving in of her lectures too many times to count. Usually the discussion was about Shawn’s idea of business casual.

  
“So how did you manage to get me from her?” Shawn asked.

  
Breighton froze. “Kevin liked your intuition. Said you kept all the perps separated when you busted him, he was on the verge of being discovered so it saved him from a black eye. He asked me to make you his new partner the next day. It took a little bit, but when I promised to loan you out to Zellner whenever she wanted, we managed to get the transfer papers signed…”

  
“That bastard!” Shawn said to himself, causing both Captains to jump. “Kev told me the only reason I was transferred was because they needed a young looking guy to go undercover at that gay club. The one that was hiring underaged dancers…”

  
This caused McKinney to laugh openly. “How did I not know about this?”

  
Breighton couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “Kevin asked for that case specifically to break you in… He did feel bad about it when you guys had to add the underage sex trafficking charges, though. We didn’t know the club was just a front— it was a real mess in the end.” He finished.

  
Shawn was staring at him with his mouth open. “I had to lock myself in a closet with three seventeen year old guys who were wearing only banana hammocks for over an hour before Kevin could get his ass in the backroom. It was more than just a mess.”

  
“That was quick thinking on your part. Stopped those boys from being— We knew, after that, that you’d do just fine in Major Crimes.” Breighton said proudly.

  
Shawn felt a pang of sadness when he thought about Kevin’s surprised face when he saw Shawn and those teens all crammed in the small space. God did he miss him.

  
McKinney was cracking up at the thought, although he did question how long the scumbags would be locked up when he heard the added charge. Fortunately the club owners were still behind bars. With that bit of good news he bid both men a good afternoon and left.

  
“That bastard is going home for the day?” Breighton said to himself when he watched McKinney head to the elevator, his badge already removed from his jacket pocket to the belt loop of his jeans. “Must be nice only having to deal with the trainees…”

  
“You’d be bored without this place.” Shawn gestured to the office around them.

  
Breighton nodded. “So I’m going to assign a few people to look into Mr. Yang, someone with a different perspective, in the meantime, I want you to take a vacation.” Breighton suddenly turned stern. “I mean it, Spence. No Psych cases either. You need a break after this mental game, two weeks minimum.”

  
Shawn was originally going to protest, but he thought about Abigale— and Juliet, and how it might be smarter, safer for his girlfriend if he put some distance between himself and Jules for the time being. It hurt his head just thinking about it; the mess that was his love life. He owed it to Abigale to give her a proper chance, even if it was killing him to do so…

  
Shawn agreed and grabbed his helmet from the Captain’s desk and told his boss he’d see him soon enough.

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

< **_2009 Santa Barbara, CA_** >

 

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

  
Shawn knew one thing; the bed he was in wasn’t his. The sheets were stiff, the mattress too hard, the pillow was annoyingly flat, and worst of all, that damn beeping woke him up. He was in a hospital… _again_.

  
Yesterday’s events flooded Shawn’s mind, unfortunately in perfect recall, as his eidetic memory never let anything go. He was investigating a case which led him to being shot and kidnapped… While there were moments when he felt he was truly screwed, the fact that _Garth_ _Longhorn_ hadn’t out right killed him left him with a sense of security, even if it was minuscule. And as it were, everything turned out okay in the end. Shawn could even cross car-jumping during a high speed chase off his bucket list…

  
Things wrapped up about as well as they usually did as far as the case was concerned. That wasn’t the reason for Shawn’s growing dread as he replayed yesterday’s events in his head. No. It was the fact that the ER doctor had announced loudly so absolutely everyone had heard that he was at risk for septic shock due to how long the bullet was lodged in his shoulder without treatment! Shawn’s punishment for this? A minimum of three days in the hospital!

  
That just wasn’t going to work for him. Three days stuck in one room with that infertile beeping? It was absolutely not acceptable. Fortunately, Shawn was well trained in the art of hospital escaping, thanks to his former partner Kevin. His throat felt thick at the thought of what Kev would do in a situation like this.

  
The clock on his heart monitor told Shawn it was just past two in the morning. A heavy and rhythmic breathing noise to his right suggested that his father had decided a visitor’s chair was more comfortable than his bed at home. A soft descending squeak hinted that the nighttime nurse most likely had just past by his room without bothering to check in on him. His priority level was probably low.

  
Shawn quietly vacated the bed. He was careful to properly shut off the heart rate machine in the process. If a nurse was watching the monitor at the station they may have noticed the lack of connection, but it was worth the risk. And as no one came running to check on him, Shawn assumed he succeeded. Now the difficult part of the escape was finding clothes. Fortunately, he and Gus had already infiltrated this very same hospital years ago. Shawn smirked, thinking about Gus in the candy-striper’s uniform.

  
A quick jot down the hall and Shawn would be in a supply closet, complete with a spare set of scrubs just waiting for him to commandeer them. Now he just needed shoes…

  
As luck would have it, his dad had misjudged his ability to sleep well in a sitting position and had removed his sneakers in a last ditch attempt to get comfortable. The angle of the older man’s neck was all Shawn needed to see to know that it hadn’t worked.

  
Ten minutes later and Shawn was exiting the hospital through an side door that fortunately was right off of the stairwell.

  
His success was short lived.

  
“Took you long enough.” Captain Breighton commented from his spot; leaning against the side of the building. “You’re getting slow in your old age.”

  
“Fuck.” Shawn uncharacteristically swore. But it was more do to the jarring of his shoulder when he jumped than it was from actually being caught. On reflex he guarded the wound.

  
“Where you heading Spence? Maybe I’ll give you a lift.” Breighton sounded almost sincere, but Shawn knew better.

  
Sure enough when he turned around, the Captain was holding up an arm sling and a pair of handcuffs.

  
“Kinky.” Shawn commented at the site.

  
“Just put it on.” Breighton ordered as he passed over the sling. “Or I’ll cuff you to your bed and put it on for you!”

  
Shawn struggled a bit adjusting the sling on his own but managed to wear the medical device eventually. He’d never admit it to his superior, but having his arm supported felt ten times better as the weight of the appendage no longer pulled on his stitches.

  
“I was just getting some essentials. My dad’s up there, it’s not like I can disappear for long.” Shawn complained.

  
“Oh? And what’s so essential?” Breighton asked simply to humor his detective.

  
“My DS, I thought it’d be a good time to finally rescue Peach.” Shawn replied sarcastically.

  
“One handed?” Breighton mused. “That’s talent.”

  
“Hey, all ten fingers work!” Shawn defended himself, waving his hands in the process. The action caused him to wince and therefore it lost its intended affect.

  
“Right.” Breighton said doubtfully. “Karen called. I’d like to be debriefed. I’d also like a coffee. Is there a place that’s opened late that serves those fruity drinks you prefer?” He asked.

  
Shawn perked up. His Captain was totally going to help him escape! That would be a first.

  
“You can wipe that grin off your face. We’re staying in the car and I’m bringing you right back here when we are done.” Breighton told him quickly.

  
Shawn would take what he could get.

 

* * *

 

  
An hour and three different locations later (Jamba Juice and Smoothie King weren’t open _, ‘I told you Shawn!’_ ) Shawn found himself sipping on a Strawberry Coolatta in a Dunkin Donut’s parking lot while recounting the events of the day.

  
“I don’t like it.” Breighton grumbled. “You were essentially missing, no point man, not armed… It’s sloppy police work.”

  
“Even if I was carrying, he would have drawn his weapon on me first, I wasn’t expecting it…” Shawn admitted, albeit begrudgingly. “As a matter of fact, he’d probably have shot me. I mean _again_. Kill me. He would have killed me if he suspected I was a cop, rather than take me hostage. He was a trained sharpshooter, after all, he _could_ have killed me if he wanted to…”

  
“Are you defending him!?” Breighton asked, incredulous. “Please tell me you’re not!”

  
“He wasn’t all bad…” Shawn said after a moments pause.

  
“You need to talk to the Psychologist. If you won’t do it here, we can make you an appointment in LA.” The Captain told him. “It’s standard procedure.”

  
“You already have my gun, and it’s not like I use my badge?” Shawn reminded his superior in a small voice.

  
Breighton wasn’t amused. “Well, I figured you’d be difficult, so I took the liberty of scheduling you an appointment, you won’t be discharged from the hospital until you see the Psychologist. You need to take it seriously. Consider this your warning.”

  
“Trader,” Shawn muttered as he sucked on air as his drink had long since ran dry.

  
“You should talk to your dad too.” Breighton added. “From what Karen told me he nearly upturned the station demanding to be put on your case. He was worried about you.”

  
“Yeah, I know. I worried them all… ”

  
“I’m glad you can see that, maybe it’s time we come clean, let him in— ” Breighton started to say but Shawn shouted:

  
“What!? No! No way! This is even more of a reason to keep them away from all of this!” He gestured between them. “It could’ve been so much worse if the kiddnappers were serious and knew I had a family to attack… ”

  
“It’s not the same, you know it’s not— maybe, when was the last time you visited the ki— ”

  
“Visit!?” Shawn asked hysterically. “I can’t! They’d hate me— their grandmother— what would she think— no, no way…”

  
“Spence. Talk to the psychologist… it will be good for you!” Breighton settled on as he started the car back up.

  
Shawn was lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t realize they were back in the hospital parking lot until his door was opened for him. It wasn’t until he was bored the next morning that he remembered that he failed to get his DS.

 

* * *

 

  
Three days and one awkward talk with a psychologist later and Shawn was finally allowed to leave the hospital. He was pretty sure the doctor knew he bullshitted his way through the conversation, but Shawn’s mom was in the profession and he knew what was expected of him to say. He tried his best not to lay it on too thick.

  
Upon his release, Henry insisted that Shawn take it easy at his place for a few more days. No cases, no Psych, no Gus, or Jules, or Lassie… That lasted about an hour.

  
Shawn volunteered to go start up the grill for a late lunch that afternoon. That should have been Henry’s first clue that his son was up to something. The second would have been the unmistakable jingle of his car keys, had he been paying attention. And the third was assuming a bullet to his son’s shoulder was enough of a wake up call for the overgrown child to _finally_ start listening to his dad to begin with…

  
Shawn took his dad’s truck to the Psych office and was surprised to find that he was pleased to see that it was empty. It’s not that he didn’t miss Gus. Hell if he had it his way, Gus would be a permanent fixture in his life and would actually quit that other pesky job of his. But the telltale playing card in the Psych office door meant that Captain McKinney had been there. And he didn’t want any part of his current life mixing with his old…

  
Once he entered, it only took a second to spot what was out of place. His desk drawers were shut, all of them… Shawn always left one slightly opened. It played into his unorganized façade as well as annoyed Gus.

  
Finding that guessing the drawer that held his prize on the first attempt would be rewarding in its own right, Shawn took a deep breath and stared. He left the second drawer open an inch. But he also assumed that would be too easy and immediately discounted that one. The top drawer seemed obvious too, if Mickey’s letter was important that would be the first place someone else would look and therefore the Captain wouldn’t have used it. Now most people keep their personal or sensitive items in the bottom drawer of their desk. Shawn’s even had a lock for just that purpose. The lock wouldn’t have hindered his Captain any, the man had actually argued that lock picking should be added to the curriculum at the academy. But, Shawn kept his lock box in the third drawer down just above the locked drawer simply to throw people off. With a slightly hesitant hand, he reached for that drawer.

  
Despite all the things going through his mind about what McKinney had left for him, he wasn’t expecting what he saw. Simply because it was too risky to leave an item like that unsupervised.

  
In the drawer on top of the pile of papers that covered Shawn’s lockbox was his gun; safety on, and clip removed, but it was still a bit shocking. On top of that was a note.

‘Nick says he better not regret this. I say you get your ass to the range!’

  
In his mind, Shawn added an ‘love, Mickey’ on the bottom of the note and actually took out a pen and imitated the Captain’s messy scrawl to add it before snapping a picture to fire off a text confirming he had received the package.

  
Once that was done Shawn scrolled through the missed texts from his father and Gus.

  
**Papa Bear (2:06 pm): You took my truck!**

**Papa Bear (2:07 pm): Come back here now!**

**Papa Bear (2:11 pm): Shawn! _Shawn_!!**

**Mr. Burton Guster II (2:16 pm): Your dad just called where are you going?**

**_Re_ : Papa Bear (2:32 pm): Would you rather I drive my bike one handed?**

**_Re_ : Mr. Burton Guster II (2:33 pm): I’m at the office, where are you?**

**Papa Bear (2:35 pm): You’re driving my truck one handed!**

**_Re_ : Papa Bear (2:36 pm): Well, _dad_ , I did in fact not miraculously heal from the time I left your porch to the moment I started your truck. Let me check, yep, arms still in a sling.**

**Mr. Burton Guster II (2:36 pm): What? Your dad said no cases…**

**Papa Bear (2:37 pm): Get your smart ass back here, now, with my truck!**

**_Re_ : Papa Bear (2:38 pm): I thought you didn’t want me to drive it one handed?**

**_Re_ : Mr. Burton Guster II (2:40 pm): We have a case! A big one! Need you, buddy!**

**Papa Bear (2:40 pm): Shawn!**

**_Re_ : Papa Bear (2:41 pm): I’m getting mixed signals dad I’m confused, what do you want me to do? Maybe I shouldn’t be driving in this mental state…**

**Papa Bear (2:42 pm): You better not be driving!**

**Papa Bear (2:42 pm): Wait! No, bring my truck back!**

**Papa Bear (2:43 pm): Oh Hell. Where are you at?**

**Papa Bear (2:55 pm): Shawn!!**

 

Gus arrived ten minutes later. “What’s the case?”

  
“I had a feeling there was a murder down at PinkBerry, I think we should check it out.”

  
“I left my route early for a frozen yogurt run!?” Gus asked, unimpressed.

  
“My spider senses were tingling!” Shawn tried with half a shrug.

  
“Spider senses! You know damn well that Spider man is not psychic and neither are you!”

  
“Yeah but I think I was bit by something, in the hospital…”

  
Gus’ glare softened. “It is Thursday, they get fresh pineapple on Thursday…”

  
“You know that’s right!” Shawn replied easily. “Can you do me a favor and go grab my dad’s keys out of the truck, he’d kill me if it was stolen while we’re gone.”

  
“Shawn!” Gus said indignantly but turned around to get the keys regardless.

  
Shawn slid open the third drawer again and looked at his gun. A moment later he had it safely stored in his lockbox. He just wasn’t ready yet.

 

* * *

**  
Papa Bear (3:25 pm): Shawn!**

**Papa Bear (3:54 pm): _Shawn_!!**

**Papa Bear (4:36 pm): God damn it, Shawn!**

**_Re_ : Papa Bear (5:10 pm): Would you like me to drive the truck back one handed or Gus with two?**

**Papa Bear (5:12 pm): … _you_ …get your ass home now!**

 


End file.
